


ever higher

by NegaByte



Category: Kirby (Video Games), Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, nova shows up for like three sentences then fucks off, which pretty much sums up its canon sphere of influence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 19:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16101827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NegaByte/pseuds/NegaByte
Summary: Nobody in Dreamland is fit to teach Kirby how to properly use his Copy ability.However, he learns of a great warrior outside of Dreamland, sealed away a long time ago, who might share the same ability.Can Galacta Knight teach Kirby how to properly use Copy to its full extent?





	1. severed ties

**Author's Note:**

> quick note b4 you read:  
> this fic takes the events of meta knightmare ultra, meta knightmare returns, and guest star ???? star allies go to be canon. however, apart from mku, none of them really have an impact on the plot.  
> i probably could have worked morpho into the plot if i had money to buy star allies and understand what his whole deal is, but i don't, so i didn't

For Galacta Knight, bright lights meant conflict.

Bright, flashing lights meant he was being summoned, and being summoned meant someone wanted to fight him. It always lead to a short breath of freedom, a small window of time where he could move, stretch his wings, feel _alive_.

But inevitably, the battle would end. He would win, and he would be put back into his crystal until someone else came along and challenged him. Thus, it was that way for a thousand years or so, and he resigned himself to the fact that his purpose now was as an idol, an impossible mountain to scale.

The last time he’d been summoned, he was offered freedom by a small butterfly who landed on his lance. Like a fool, he’d accepted its offer, and all he remembered of that instance was a pulsing light emanating from the butterfly before waking up in his crystal yet again, this time with a throbbing headache. _I should have known_ , he thought. _Nothing can sever the tie between me and Nova except a_ wish.

He meditated on that for an unknowable amount of time until the same bright lights flashed again. They blinded him to the transition from pocket dimension to the real world, and when they faded, he saw a small, pink puffball floating in front of him. The puffball wore a floppy green cap, and held a simple sword with a blue hilt.

The crystal around Galacta cracked, and he broke through it easily, the same way he had every time he was summoned before.

“YOUR WISH IS GRANTED,” boomed a familiar voice behind him. “MY TASK IS COMPLETE.” He turned to look at Galactic Nova, but it had already vanished, so he looked back at the warrior in front of him.

“Young one, why have you summoned me?” he asked, voice raspy from years of disuse. “Is there not a stronger knight you can sharpen your skills against? Or am I simply a stepping stone in your journey to fight the new greatest warrior in the galaxy?”

“Actually, uh…” the puffball squeaked, “I didn’t want to fight you.”

“...Excuse me?”

“I don’t wanna fight you! I wanna learn from you! Nobody else can teach me the stuff I gotta know but you!”

“That’s flattering, but, uh… is there not another knight in your homeland who can teach you the ways of the sword? Have sword-fighting techniques not improved in my absence?”

“No, not sword stuff!” The puffball flailed his arms. “I want you to teach me how to use the Copy ability!”

“What?!” Galacta choked. “The Copy ability? I don’t know where you got the idea that I have that… abomination of an ability from!”

“It’s not an abomination, whatever that means! It’s a great ability, but nobody else has it! You’re the only one who can help me!”

Galacta hesitated. “You… carry the Copy ability?”

The child nodded.

“...And where did you learn that I have that ability as well?”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story. Do you really wanna hear all of it?”

“I suppose I have no other obligations.”

“Cool!” The puffball smiled widely. “By the way, my name’s Kirby.” He extended a nub towards Galacta.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kirby.” He took Kirby’s nub in his own hand and shook it. “You most likely already know my name, but for the sake of formalities… I am Galacta Knight, former greatest warrior in the galaxy.”

“Nice to meet you, too!” Kirby summoned a Warp Star underneath him and sat on it. “So, it all started a couple of days ago…”

⭐️

It had started when Kirby had wielded the Plasma ability during his training session with Meta Knight. He’d tossed a Plasma ability star at Meta and watched it bounce off his mask, then shouted at him to get it.

(“Meta’s my sword teacher,” Kirby explained. “He’s _super cool_. He has his own battleship and his own crew and- wait, I need to focus.”)

Instead of picking it up like Kirby had hoped, Meta just knocked it aside and told him to focus. Of course, Kirby got upset because he was hoping that today they could do something other than sword fighting because it was getting really boring working on the same thing over and over again. He wanted to work on his other abilities! Didn’t Meta want to use his other abilities, too? And what if someone who was better at swordfighting than him tried to destroy Dreamland and he needed to use a different ability to save the day?

That was when Meta sighed and explained to Kirby that he couldn’t use other abilities. Nobody could, not like Kirby could. Most puffballs developed an inherent ability by the time they were six, but Kirby was almost ten and still copied abilities perfectly.

(“I don’t know why he didn’t tell me that my copying was a special thing earlier. He doesn’t tell me a lot of things. Like the time when I thought he’d stolen a chest with my cake in it but when I got it back it was actually Dark Nebula so I had to fight him…”

“You _fought_ Dark Nebula?”

But Kirby was talking again.)

There was only one other recorded puffball who might have been able to copy abilities as well as Kirby, he’d said. Then he’d gone quiet and said he was sealed away a long time ago.

Of course, Kirby was curious as to who this puffball could be, so he asked Meta about him. He said his name was Galacta Knight, and that he was sealed away because the people feared his power. He also said that Galacta having the Copy ability was based largely on rumors, but Kirby still wanted to meet him, because who knew what he could teach him!

But Meta said he was too dangerous to release. And when Kirby said that he could probably beat him if he tried anything, Meta just told him to get his sword. Still, Kirby had to wonder… could Galacta be the Copy teacher he needed?

⭐️

“And that’s why I got the seven stars and summoned Nova and wished to free you,” Kirby said. He took a deep breath and continued. “I only have the Sword ability in case you wanted to kill me, but you don’t seem very kill-y today, so I think I’ll be okay.”

Galacta stared at Kirby for a moment. This child had the Copy ability, and spoke of it so proudly! Yet… he seemed physically unscarred. He spoke of having a mentor who saw his copying and didn’t try to kill him on sight.

“So the land you hail from doesn’t regard you as a freak of nature?” Galacta queried.

“What? No!” Kirby replied. “Everyone in Dreamland is my friend!”

“How peculiar,” Galacta mused. “The people of Halcandra were never so accepting of me. When they saw that I’d kept my copying past the age of six, they called me a freak and a monster. I had to pretend I was just a late bloomer and had the Sword ability to keep them from killing me.”

“Oh.”

Kirby stared into the stars beyond Galacta. The thought of Galacta being treated so horribly for something he couldn’t control…

Galacta’s voice broke through his thoughts. “As such, you may find that I am not a suitable mentor for you. My sincerest apologies.”

Kirby looked back at Galacta, who was now averting his gaze. It wasn’t fair, he thought. He deserved a chance to use his abilities to the fullest in every fight, like Kirby did!

“Well, maybe I can teach _you_ to use _your_ Copy ability!” Kirby chirped.

“Huh?” Galacta looked back at Kirby. “Why would you want to do that? I am very skilled with my lance as it is.”

“Because it isn’t fair that everyone in Halacandra was a jerk and didn’t like you copying things! Don’t you think it’s unfair?”

“It’s Hal-can-dra,” Galacta corrected. “Not Hal-ah-can-dra.”

“Whatever! They’re still jerks and you should be free to use whatever abilities you wanna use.”

“Young one, I am a capable warrior already. I do not need your assistance, though I appreciate the thought.” He spread his wings and turned to leave when Kirby lurched forward and grabbed his wing.

“Hey! Wait!!” he shouted. “You can’t leave! You can’t go because… you owe me!”

Galacta turned to look at Kirby. “I owe you.”

“Yeah! I freed you, so now you owe me! And the way you’re gonna make it up to me is you’re gonna let me teach you how to use your Copy ability so you can be the best warrior you can be!”

If Kirby was going to be this determined to help Galacta, he figured that there was no point in trying to shake him off. Besides, it wasn’t like he had anything else to do. “Alright. I give.”

“Yaaaaaay!” Kirby clapped his hands. “Okay, I’ll fly us back to Popstar. Hold on to the Warp Star!”

“I can fly myself-“

“No, you gotta hold on! Popstar’s a really long way from here, and I don’t wanna lose you out here!”

“Alright, alright.” Galacta gripped the back of the Warp Star tightly. It glowed brightly, then shot off, Galacta in tow, towards the bright Planet Popstar.


	2. obligatory training montage

If one had been watching the skies by Kirby’s house, it would have looked like a shooting star with a white trail was on a collision course with it. The falling object was, in fact, Kirby’s Warp Star, carrying both him and newly-freed Galacta Knight.

As they approached the ground, Kirby grabbed the point of the Warp Star and pulled it upwards, tilting it slightly backwards. Its descent slowed gradually until it came to a complete stop above his house.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve used the Warp Star and not crashed it!” Kirby exclaimed, eyes twinkling.

The Warp Star then poofed out of existence, dropping both Kirby and Galacta on the dome-shaped house. They tumbled down its slope and landed, flat on their faces. The Sword ability ejected itself from Kirby and bounced away a few times before dissolving.

Kirby quickly got up and brushed himself off. “Come on, Galacta! I gotta pack a lunch for the both of us!” He rushed inside his house. Galacta mumbled something incoherent, but soon got up and followed Kirby inside, shutting the door behind him.

One could describe Kirby’s house as “quaint,” but Galacta would have preferred the term “extremely cramped.” It was rather small, with a single bed pushed against the wall, a chimney containing a small fireplace, a shelf over the window that held what looked to be twinkling stars, and a mini refrigerator. Kirby was currently rifling through the fridge, tossing more food than it should have been able to hold into a woven basket by his feet. When he was satisfied, he closed the fridge door and turned to Galacta.

“Welcome to my home!” Kirby said.

“It’s rather small, isn’t it?”

“I guess… But I still like it! Do you like it?”

“Anything is better than my old residence,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Was Halac- Halcandra really that bad?”

He was actually referring to the crystal, but now that Kirby had heard him, he just wanted the conversation to be over. “Oh, it had its moments.”

There was a loud knock at the door.

“Kirby, are you in there?” a deep voice asked.

Galacta’s blood ran cold. He recognized that voice.

_“So I wish to fight… the greatest warrior in the galaxy!”_

“It’s Meta Knight!” Kirby hissed. “I forgot I was supposed to train with him today!” He pushed Galacta out of the way. “I’ll distract him! You go hide somewhere!”

Galacta scurried towards Kirby’s bed and dove under it, pulling the blanket on top down to cover the gap.

“That’s good!” Kirby whispered.

Another loud knock rang through the house.

“Kirby, did you forget today was a training day?”

“No! No, I didn’t!” Kirby rushed to open the door.

There stood Meta Knight, fist still poised to knock. He lowered his fist and stared at Kirby. “There you are. What is the meaning of this?”

“I’m sorry, Meta! I just, um…” Kirby coughed unconvincingly. “I felt… really… sick today. So I stayed home. And I forgot to tell you that I felt sick today. Yeah.”

Meta raised an eyebrow. “So you feel sick today?”

He reached a gloved hand out and pressed it to Kirby’s forehead.

“That’s odd. You feel perfectly fine to me.”

“You have gloves on! That doesn’t count!”

“I cannot let you grow lazy, Kirby. You must train if you want to improve yourself.” He turned to leave. “Come on, Kirby.”

Kirby couldn’t bear to have to wait a full day to train with Galacta! “Wait, Meta!”

He glanced at Kirby over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“I- Y- There’s another reason I don’t wanna train today!”

“Is it a good one?”

Kirby nodded quickly, then spoke even quicker. “I was thinking that maybe I could train in the woods with my Copy abilities by myself alone because I wanted to improve them and I know you can’t copy so that’s why-“ He stopped abruptly and took in a deep breath, panting heavily.

Meta considered this, a hand pressed to his forehead, then sighed. “Kirby… if you wanted to train on your own, why did you not say so in the first place?”

“Becauuuse I didn’t wanna hurt your feelings?”

He had really hoped it wouldn’t have come to this, but in the end, a half-truth was probably better than a flat-out lie, right?

“Kirby, I would never wish to limit your growth as a warrior. I will exempt you from training today, but you must promise me that you will train on your own instead of lazing about.”

“I promise, Meta Knight! I won’t let you down!”

Meta gently patted Kirby on the head. “I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thank you, Meta Knight!”

Meta turned and transformed his cape into sizable bat wings, taking off into the sky. Feelings of pride swelled in his chest. Kirby was so young, and already taking his power into his own hands…

“Oh dear Nova, I just LIED TO MY TEACHER!” Kirby shouted after Meta was well out of earshot.

“Are you aware of the fact that your teacher happens to be the _one_ knight who has bested me in combat?” Galacta growled from under the bed. He crawled out, inadvertently pulling the blanket off the bed and over his head.

“What?! No! Really?” Kirby ran over to Galacta and pulled the blanket off his head. “That explains how he knows you. When did he fight you?”

“It was… I don’t know how long ago it was. The years blurred together in that crystal… but it must have been some years ago.”

“What was it like? Did you hurt Meta a lot, or could you even hit him?”

“He is a strong warrior. Stronger than even I anticipated.” Galacta sat upright. “But he was very honorable. He never attacked me when I had fallen.”

“He does have that whole knightly honor thing going on. Whenever I fight him, he always gives me a sword before we fight.”

“Well, if you’re training with him, I’d hope he would arm you properly.” Galacta chuckled a bit.

“No, not just when we’re training! I meant like when we fight for real.”

An uncomfortable silence filled Kirby’s house.

“Why would Meta Knight be seriously duelling you? You are a child, are you not?” Galacta finally asked.

“I’m not just a kid! I’m super strong! There’s a reason they call me the pink demon!”

Galacta seriously doubted anyone called him that.

“And besides, whenever we fight, it’s usually a misunderstanding. That, or he’s being possessed. Well, I guess there was that time when he wanted to take over Dreamland, but he hasn’t done anything like that in a while…”

They sat in silence for a while longer until Kirby grabbed his basket and hopped on top of his bed. He grabbed various stars from the window shelf, stuffing them in his basket.

“We should get going! I wanna go train already!” Kirby said. “Don’t you?”

“Yes, we should get going,” Galacta replied stiffly.

Kirby hopped down from the bed and dashed out the door. “Come on! I know a great spot!” he called out. Galacta hurried close behind him.

⭐️

The duo arrived at a flat clearing in the depths of the forest. It was clear of any roots that could potentially trip them up, and the ground was solid. Kirby dropped his basket on the ground and rummaged through it, pulling out a purple-tinted star.

“Okay!” Kirby tossed the star at Galacta, who caught it with ease. “Let’s train with the Mirror ability first!”

Galacta pressed on both sides of the star until it fizzled and disappeared. On his head, a pink and blue hat materialized, and in his hand, a long staff with a magenta orb on its end appeared. Kirby, who had pulled another Mirror star out of the basket and promptly consumed it, held the same gear, albeit with a red and cyan hat.

“Okay, so you haven’t used any copy abilities, right?” Kirby asked. “You can wave the staff around to shoot mirror shards at people, and if you run fast enough, you can split yourself into copies to hurt enemies!”

Galacta twirled the staff in the air, watching the mirror shards it projected glint with sunlight. The shards dissipated after getting a few feet away.

“And you can deflect things with your Reflect Guard bubble! Put your arm up, and I’ll show you!” Kirby said. He raised his own arm in demonstration, and a rainbow bubble appeared around him.

Galacta raised his arm in a block. A translucent pink bubble closed around him.

“Oh, your Reflect Guard bubble is pink!” Kirby commented.

It was pink and shimmering and it completely surrounded him and it was too close to his body and it was trapping him, holding him in, and he was starting to hyperventilate. He ejected the star and threw it at a nearby tree, watching it shatter.

“Ah! My Mirror star!” Kirby exclaimed. “Why’d you do that?”

“I’m… I’m sorry, Kirby,” Galacta wheezed. “I wasn’t thinking right. Let’s just use another ability.”

“Are you okay, Gala-“

“I’ll be fine,” Galacta interrupted. “Don’t worry about me.”

Kirby frowned, but ejected his ability star and placed it back in the basket. He rummaged through it and pulled out a blue-tinted star, then carefully handed it to Galacta. “This one’s Spark.”

Galacta held the star in shaky hands, squeezing it gently. He took in a deep breath… exhaled… then absorbed the star.

The star fizzled and poofed into sparkles. Pink spikes shot up on his head, and lightning flowed through his very being.

Kirby had eaten a teal ability star, setting a green flame ablaze on his head, encircled by a simple headband. “And this is Plasma! It’s pretty much the same as Spark, but I like the fiery hair better.” He patted the side of his head approvingly before launching into his makeshift lesson.

“Alright, so basically, if you move around a lot, you’ll build up electricity inside you. You can shoot different things depending on how much electricity is built up. Try rubbing your hands together, see how much you can build up at a time!”

Galacta rubbed his gloved hands together, feeling electricity building up inside of him. When the electricity formed a sizable ball between his hands, he fired off a laser in Kirby’s general direction. It zipped just over his head, landing somewhere off in the forest and pulling his attention towards Galacta.

A determined grin spread on Kirby’s face, and he rubbed his own hands together until electricity circled him. He thrust his hands out, sending the plasma barrier towards Galacta, who dodged it with ease.

Electricity crackled through the air, back and forth and back and forth. It struck everything around the two warriors except the warriors themselves. Galacta, wings as quick as ever, dodged every laser Kirby threw at him. Kirby was not particularly nimble, but nevertheless remained untouched only because Galacta had zero experience with the Spark ability, and didn’t trust his fighting mind enough to not seriously injure Kirby.

A bolt finally struck Galacta head-on, stunning him and sending him flying. He skidded on the ground and lay on his side, unmoving.

“Woah! Galacta, are you okay?” Kirby rushed over to him and shook him gently. “Oh no…”

Suddenly, Galacta turned and threw a spark needle right in Kirby’s face! He squeaked in alarm and stumbled backwards.

“Hey, that wasn’t fair! I thought I really hurt you!” Kirby protested.

“You can’t rely on your opponent fighting fair in a true battle, young one,” Galacta replied.

Kirby’s stomach emitted a monstrous growl. Galacta started and glanced around him. “What on Halcandra was that?”

“That was me! I’m hungry!” Kirby ejected his Plasma ability and placed it in his basket, then picked up said basket. “It’s time to take a break! Come on, I know a good picnicking spot!”

⭐️

The promised spot lay just outside the forest, on a grassy plain some distance away from civilization. Kirby released Galacta Knight’s hand to start digging through the basket for Maxim Tomatoes, the latter having not realized the former was holding his hand until he let go. A wave of embarrassment flushed through him. Who did this child think Galacta was? His babysitter?

“Do you like tomatoes, Galacta?” Kirby asked. “They’re my favorite food, but my friend Daroach really hates them.”

“I do like Maxim Tomatoes,” Galacta replied. As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly, much to Kirby’s amusement.

Kirby gave Galacta a Maxim Tomato and turned back to the basket to retrieve some tomatoes of his own. Galacta sat on the grass and removed his mask, placing it beside him.

The feeling of finally satisfying his hunger was something Galacta had never thought he’d feel again, and he tried to savor every bite of his Maxim Tomato. Eventually, his hunger won out, and he ended up scarfing the whole thing down in record time. He turned to ask how many more tomatoes there were and caught Kirby gawking at him.

“What is it?” Galacta asked.

“Where’d you get that scar from?” Kirby blurted out.

Said scar ran, long and jagged, over his left eye and just under his right. “Someone who disapproved of my copying gave it to me,” he stated.

“Oh.” Kirby turned and stared into the distance, a pit growing in his stomach.

Galacta retrieved two more tomatoes from the basket and offered one to Kirby, who was too lost in thought to acknowledge it, even when Galacta pressed it against his cheek. “Kirby?”

“It’s not fair!” Kirby exclaimed.

“What?”

“It isn’t fair that people hurt you because of your ability! You couldn’t control that!”

“Kirby, it’s fine, really-“

“No! It’s not! It’s terrible!”

“Obviously physically scarring someone is bad, but there’s nothing you can do to change what happened.”

“I know I can’t change it but I’m still just- I-“ Tears started flowing down Kirby’s cheeks, and he let out a high-pitched whine.

Oh lord, what was Galacta to do? He didn’t have any experience with children, especially not crying ones! After silently panicking for a few moments, he cautiously reached out to Kirby and hugged him, saying nothing but only making quiet “shh”-ing sounds for fear of worsening Kirby’s condition. Kirby leaned into the hug and quieted some, easing Galacta’s fears of royally messing everything up.

Galacta felt a pair of eyes on him and looked up to see a round, orange creature wearing a sailor hat staring at him with wide eyes. He scowled at it, and it turned and ran off, clutching some sort of cell phone in its nub. The nerve of some people, he swore…

Kirby’s whines eventually quieted to a soft sniffling. In that time, Galacta’s mind had been hard at work trying to think of _something_ to say to keep Kirby from fretting over him all the time. “Kirby…”

Kirby looked up at him with watery eyes.

_Well, here goes nothing._ “You do not have to worry about me all the time. What happened in the past is over and done with.” Galacta broke away from the hug and rested a hand on Kirby’s head. “Let’s just look to the future from now on, okay?”

Immediately, Galacta silently scolded himself for saying something so incredibly cheesy. But Kirby seemed to accept it, smiling and nodding at him. Then, he leaned forward and hugged Galacta again. Galacta froze, but returned the hug.

_This is nice_ , he thought. _I think I could get used to this._

⭐️

Sailor Dee was late to their shift on the Halberd! They’d been up working so late last night, they slept right through their alarm clock! Three hours after their alarm was supposed to wake them up, they’d finally awoken, and were now running as fast as they could to the Halberd’s base. They ran through a shortcut that went just behind Whispy Woods’ forest, holding a cell phone in their stubby arm.

“Oh goodness, oh no…” they mumbled to themself. “Would it be worse if I called Sir Meta Knight and told him what was going on? Can I still make it if I run faster? No, of course I can’t make it! It’s been three hours!”

They passed a picnic on a hillside, barely giving it a glance. They almost said hi to Kirby, but he looked preoccupied with-

Wait.

They stopped and turned to get another look at what was going on. Those wings, those horns, that mask with the four-pointed star so carelessly strewn aside… Could that be Galacta Knight? _The_ Galacta Knight, strongest warrior in the galaxy? Why was he holding Kirby? Why was Kirby crying?!

Galacta’s head snapped up, and he stared down Sailor Dee, who trembled in terror. He snarled at them, and they didn’t hesitate to turn tail and run for their life.

When they were a good distance away, they opened their cell phone and quickly dialed Meta Knight’s number, holding the phone to the side of their head while it rang.

Finally, a familiar voice greeted them. “Sailor Dee? Where are you? You’re three hours late,” Meta said.

“Sir Meta Knight! I’m sorry about my lateness, but we have a bigger problem!” they panted. “It’s- it’s a code lavender!”

Meta froze. They couldn’t mean… “Dios mio… Are you absolutely s-“

“I’m positive! I saw Galacta Knight by the south end of Whispy Woods’ Forest! He looked just like you said he did, he had lavender wings and yellow horns, only he wasn’t wearing his mask! He was holding onto Kirby, and- and Kirby was crying!”

Sailor Dee’s phone was silent for a few moments.

“What should we do, Sir Meta Knight?”

The sound of a sword unsheathing was the only answer they received before Meta hung up on them.


	3. duel!

“That one looks like a heart!”

 

Kirby and Galacta Knight sat on the grass looking at the clouds, having long since finished off all the food in Kirby’s basket. Galacta squinted at the cloud Kirby had pointed out through his mask’s visor. It did vaguely resemble a heart.

 

“And that one looks like a Maxim Tomato!” Kirby pointed at an unremarkably round cloud. “I wish I had a Maxim Tomato.”

 

“Kirby, you just ate a basket full of Maxim Tomatoes.”

 

“Well, maybe I’m still hungry!” Kirby scanned the sky again for more clouds to identify. “Oh, that one looks like Meta Knight!”

 

It was not a cloud. It was in fact Meta Knight, soaring through the sky and headed straight for the two pink puffballs.

 

“Hey, wait, is that actually-“

 

His sentence was cut off by Meta landing right in front of Galacta. Galaxia was already unsheathed, and he pointed it at Galacta, who scrambled to his feet.

 

“Galacta Knight! Your reign of terror ends here!” Meta said.

 

“I-“

 

“Silence!” Meta interrupted. “Nothing you say will dissuade me from banishing you from this planet for good! We shall duel for the fate of Planet Popstar!”

 

“Meta, wait!” Kirby cried out.

 

“Kirby, it isn’t safe for you to stay here,” Meta replied. “You must leave.”

 

Clearly, there would be no reasoning with Meta Knight. Galacta Knight’s lance and shield had hung on his belt forgotten in his short time freed, and now he unsheathed his lance and equipped his shield. Adrenaline flowed through his veins- despite himself, he was itching to prove that he deserved the title of greatest warrior in the galaxy.

 

“If it’s a fight you wish for, then you will have it,” Galacta said. “En guarde!”

 

Kirby picked up his basket and backed up quickly, ability stars clinking against each other with each step. Meta watched him out of the corner of his eye, waiting for him to be a safe distance away. Then he turned his full attention to Galacta and rushed forward, Galaxia outstretched!

 

Galacta raised his shield and blocked Meta’s attack. Galaxia slid off its metal surface, and Galacta thrust his lance forward. It just glanced Meta, who thrust Galaxia forward in retaliation.

 

One, two, one, two! The rhythmic clanking of metal on metal rang through the battlefield. Kirby watched from the sidelines as the two knights battled. He looked briefly at his basket, wondering...

 

Meta was fast, striking swiftly at his opponent, but Galacta was seemingly faster. The two weapons danced through the air as each knight tried to hit the other. Finally, Meta managed to land a strike, his pronged blade slashing against Galacta’s skin.

 

Galacta fell to the ground and clutched his wound. Meta stood before him, pointing Galaxia at Galacta’s face.

 

“If I were you,” Meta said, “I would leave this planet and never come back.”

 

That was enough to make up Kirby’s mind. He grabbed the Spark star Galacta had previously used and threw it at Galacta. It landed right next to him, and he grabbed it, absorbing it into his self. Pink spikes rose on his head, and electricity crackled through his very being.

 

“You…” Meta’s voice faltered.

 

Galacta’s lance crackled with electric energy. He swung it forward, focusing the electricity toward its tip, and fired off a wave of lightning that knocked Meta backward.

 

Meta charged forward, sending a flurry of strikes down upon Galacta to no avail, as he dodged all of them. The lightning inside him now formed a barrier around him, and he charged his lance with it, firing a crackling ball of lightning that sent Meta tumbling to the side.

 

Still, Meta rose again, and Galacta tightened his grip on his shield. Instead of charging forward, though, Meta plunged Galaxia into the ground. The wind grew stronger, circling the two knights and coalescing around Galaxia. They formed a tornado that almost stretched above the trees, and it charged forward, sweeping up Galacta before he could react. He flailed and kicked uselessly before he was slammed against the ground at full force. The tornado dissipated as quickly as it formed, and Galacta lay still.

 

Finally he spoke. “I know when I’ve been beat.” He stood and spread his wings. “I will leave Popstar. You won’t see me again.”

 

“Wait, Galacta!” Kirby cried out. He ran to Galacta’s side and tugged on one of his wings. “Where are you gonna go?”

 

“It does not matter where he goes,” Meta answered, “as long as it is not Popstar.”

 

Galacta didn’t reply, only shaking Kirby off his wing before taking off. 

 

“Galacta!” Kirby cried out.

 

“And you,” Meta said. “Did you summon Galacta Knight after I told you how dangerous he was?”

 

“I- uh…” Kirby averted his eyes. “I didn’t get hurt, though! He was nice!”

 

“He is a menace who holds enough power to destroy planets!”

 

“He’s not a monster! Or a menace, or- whatever!” Kirby’s glare was matched by Meta’s stern scowl. “He’s a nice person who doesn’t want to be hurt for something he can’t control!”

 

“You do not know the danger he poses to you if he is allowed to roam the galaxy freely!”

 

“He won’t hurt anyone!”

 

“Enough!” Kirby fell silent. “Your release of Galacta Knight may have had good intentions, but if he is left to his own devices, it can only end in the destruction of our galaxy. I will seal him away for good.”

 

“No!”

 

But Meta was already soaring off into the sky, no doubt headed to Floralis to find the first wishing star.

 

_ I can’t let him seal away Galacta, _ Kirby thought.  _ I have to do something… _

 

An idea popped into his mind. He summoned his Warp Star and hopped onto it, blasting off into space without hesitation.

 

⭐️

 

The stars twinkled brightly, fading in and out of sight against the dark sky. Some shone in various shades of red and blue, but most were the pure white typical of stars. They were spread across the sky, clustering in areas almost like some cosmic artist had decided to paint a simple picture of light.

 

Galacta sat on the golden surface of Halfmoon, staring into the twinkling starscape. How long he had been sitting there, he did not know, but he hadn’t moved since he landed there.

 

As far as he could tell, nobody inhabited this planet except him, which was perfectly fine. It was probably for the best that Meta Knight had chased him out of Popstar, anyways. If Meta’s reaction to him was any indicator, then his reputation must have persisted. Everyone probably knew about his tremendous strength and his fearsome power, not to mention his atrocious ability.

 

And yet…

 

The child- no, he had a name- Kirby had thought nothing of setting him free again, of unleashing him in all his terror onto the universe. He’d shown no fear of Galacta in their short time together. All Kirby was concerned with was training and becoming better at using his copying.

 

There was the other thing that bothered him. Kirby flaunted his Copy ability for everyone to see, and they didn’t even care! They’d treated him the same way they’d treat a puffball with any other ability...

 

As Galacta pondered these strange things, a star twinkled and seemingly grew larger. He squinted at it, realizing with a start that it was Kirby on his Warp Star! He jumped to his feet and opened his wings, gliding over to where it looked like Kirby was going to land.

 

Kirby’s Warp Star hit the ground hard, shattering into dozens of tiny pieces and sending Kirby flying right into Galacta. He bounced off Galacta and landed on the starry ground. The feathered headdress he wore fluttered in the wind, and red-tipped wings twitched on his back.

 

“Kirby, what are you doing here?” Galacta asked.

 

“Galacta, you’re okay!” Kirby shouted. He jumped to his feet and hugged Galacta tightly.

 

“Yes, well, I am a very strong knight, of course I’m okay,” Galacta said, trying in vain to pry Kirby off of him. “Again,  _ what _ are you  _ doing _ here?”

 

“Meta’s trying to seal you away again, so I’m gonna hide the wishing star on Halfmoon so he can’t do it!” He pulled away from Galacta and was about to set off when Galacta spoke again.

 

“Why?”

 

“Why? Because he says you’re gonna destroy Popstar, and-“

 

“No, why are you trying to save me?”

 

Kirby stared blankly into Galacta’s eyes, searching for a reason he would be protesting Kirby saving his life. “That joke wasn’t very funny, you know.”

 

“It’s not a joke, it is a legitimate question.”

 

“Well- I-“ Kirby was at a loss for words. “I want to save you because I would feel really bad if I didn’t! I like saving people!”

 

“Even those with a reputation for destroying planets?”

 

“You’re nice, though! You don’t wanna destroy Popstar, or anything like that!” Kirby narrowed his eyes. “Right?”

 

“That’s not the point.”

 

“It is the point! Even if you have destroyed planets, I can tell you’re nice now. And I know that people can change! My friend Magolor tried to take over the universe, but he’s changed, too! He even built me a theme park!”

 

The knowledge that Kirby considered power-hungry madmen his friends only lowered Galacta’s faith in himself. “Kirby, you should return home. You are a child, and-“

 

“I’m not just a little kid!” Kirby interrupted. “I’m strong and I’m mature and I can always save Dreamland by myself! And I’m going to get this star, and I’m going to hide it where Meta will never find it, and I’m going to save your life whether you like it or not, so  _ there! _ ” Kirby turned and ran off, not even stopping to glance back at Galacta.

 

_ Oh god, Kirby’s going to get himself killed _ , Galacta thought.  _ He’s going to get lost on this strange planet and starve to death because he was worried about me. _

 

Galacta buried his face in his hands and groaned. Then he called out to Kirby and ran to catch up with him. “If you get seriously injured here because you were trying to help me, it will plague my conscience forever. I’ll accompany you on your journey to ensure your safety.”

 

“Really?” Kirby squeaked in delight. “Great! It’ll be way easier to beat Computer Virus with someone helping me!” He grabbed Galacta’s hand and pulled him along. “We gotta hurry, though! Meta’s probably way quicker at collecting the stars than I was!”

 

Kirby ran, pulling Galacta with him and kicking up sparkling rocks everywhere. He ran until the two reached a glowing white door.

 

“There’s a drop here, so watch your step!” Kirby said before releasing Galacta’s hand and disappearing through the door. Galacta unfolded his wings and stepped carefully through.

 

The other side of the portal hovered in the air, and Galacta flapped his wings gently, slowing his descent to the ground. Rather than being composed of golden rocks, this ground was grassy and soft to the touch. Palm trees rose to touch the cloudy sky, and various creatures wandered aimlessly.

 

“Galacta! Up here!” Galacta glanced upwards and saw Kirby flapping his wings, struggling not to be carried backwards by the strong wind.

 

“If you flap your wings, you can ride the wind and get through this part super fast!” Kirby said. “Come on, it’s fun!”

 

Galacta flapped his wings and soared into the air. He glided alongside Kirby on the wind, savoring the rush of air against his face.

 

He hadn’t felt this- the feeling of soaring through the sky, unrestrained by gravity- in quite some time. He closed his eyes and savored the sensation of being lighter than air. He was one with the breeze, like a bird released from its cage, and-

 

“Galacta! Are you okay?” Kirby asked.

 

He’d flown right into a wall.

 

“I’m fine,” Galacta grunted.

 

“Come on,” Kirby said. “This part’s a little tricky, but after that it’s way easier.” He swooped under the wall, weaving around floating blocks that sparked with electricity. Galacta followed suit, looping around the hazardous blocks with more grace than Kirby’s stilted turns.

 

At the end of the cluster of hazards, Galacta landed on the ground again and followed Kirby through another door. He stepped through to find a sparkling golden tunnel spiraling downwards.

 

Kirby summoned his Warp Star and swiftly mounted it. “Hop on!” he said.

 

Galacta mounted the Warp Star alongside Kirby. It shot downward into the tunnel, twisting and turning sharply before stopping suddenly in an empty room. Galacta hopped off it before it poofed into nothingness, with Kirby dropping close behind him.

 

Through the door located in the middle of the room, Galacta and Kirby found themselves at the bottom of a long cavern. A strong breeze blew underneath them, and Kirby spread his wings, floating higher into the air without any effort. Galacta followed suit, rising higher into the air.

 

“Where is this wind coming from? Why is it blowing upwards?” Galacta asked.

 

“I don’t know!” Kirby replied. “Everything on Halfmoon is kinda weird.

 

The door hovered in midair, and Kirby soared through it quickly, Galacta following close behind.

 

The new area was filled with shimmering crystals on every surface Galacta could see. He took a look around the area.

 

“Where is the wishing star?”

 

“You have to fight Computer Virus first,” Kirby said. “It’ll show up any second now.”

 

As if on cue, three glowing screens appeared before the two warriors. The bottom-right showed a flickering image of what appeared to be humanoid witch, the bottom-left showed the number “104”, and the topmost one read,  _ “A Magician appears!” _

 

The “Magician” dropped to the ground, unmoving. On the top window, the words  _ “Kirby and his friend attack!” _ scrolled through.

 

“What is that creature?” Galacta asked.

 

“It’s Computer Virus!” Kirby replied, firing arrows rapidly at it. The Magician made no attempt to fight back. “You take a turn attacking it, and then it attacks you.”

 

The Magician rose again into the window it had come from.

 

_ “The Magician takes 34 damage!” _ the top window read.

 

“Now the Magician’s gonna attack, so be ready,” Kirby warned.

 

_ “The Magician casts an ice spell!”  _ It changed poses suddenly, holding its wand out and firing a cold blast towards Kirby, who flew up out of the way.

 

_ “Kirby and his friend avoided the attack!” _

 

_ Strange _ , Galacta thought.  _ It might be a program of some sort, designed to protect the wishing star. _

 

_ “Kirby and his friend attack!” _

 

“Galacta, attack it with me!” Kirby said, firing feathers at the Magician again. Galacta complied, striking at it with his lance.

 

_ “The Magician takes 36 damage! The Magician casts a fire spell!” _

 

A spray of searing flames roared out from the screen. Galacta ducked under it, barely escaping its flames. Kirby dodged as well, but not without burning the tips of some of his feathers.

 

_ “Kirby and his friend attack!” _

 

With only a few more attacks, the Magician was defeated, as evidenced by the new message in the top window. Their victory was short-lived, however, and a bigger, more well-armored humanoid appeared on the screen.

 

_ “An Evil Knight appears! Kirby and his friend attack!” _

 

“I wish I could use the wishing stars and wish that Meta would stop attacking you,” Kirby thought aloud.

 

_ “The Evil Knight takes 40 damage! The Evil Knight stores up power!” _

 

“That’s a nice thought, but it wouldn’t work,” Galacta replied. “Nova can’t alter another living being.”

 

“But one of my friends used Nova to make himself more powerful and scary. Wouldn’t that be changing a living being?”

 

“Well, if your friend wished to change themself, that’s different. I meant Nova can’t change another living being without their consent.”

 

“Darn it.”

 

_ “The Evil knight was defeated!” _

 

The fight with Computer Virus had been so tedious that the two warriors had defeated their opponent all while being too absorbed in their current conversation to realize it. A new opponent flickered onto the screen- a sizable orange dragon, its jaw slightly agape to reveal rows of sharp teeth. It would have been impressive, were it real.

 

“Could I wish for Meta to understand you instead?” Kirby asked.

 

“That would still be altering his perception of me, and thus, altering him.”

 

“Dang it!”

 

_ “The Great Dragon flaps formidable wings!” _

 

A gust of wind pushed against Galacta and Kirby. Galacta struggled against it, but managed to stay in relatively the same spot. Kirby wasn’t so lucky- he was blown a good distance away from Computer Virus, and had to fly back.

 

“It’s a shame that such technology was only used in a single attack,” Galacta commented. “Why doesn’t it utilise such power in all its attacks?”

 

Kirby puffed up his cheeks. The wings on his back disappeared, as did the headdress he wore.

 

_ “Kirby and his friend attack!” _

 

Kirby spat a brown-tinted star at the Great Dragon. It crashed through it and disrupted the image, defeating the dragon for good.

 

_ “Kirby and his friend beat all the enemies!” _

 

Even with his base powers, Kirby showed incredible power, and Galacta made a note not to get on Kirby’s bad side.

 

_ “Your Roundness went up by 1!” _

 

The bottom left window closed.

 

_ “Your Maturity went up by 2!” _

 

Then the bottom right window closed.

 

_ “Your Friendship went up by 5!” _

 

Finally, the top window closed, and all traces of Computer Virus’ presence were gone. In fact, when Galacta blinked, he seemed to be in a completely different place. He was standing on grass dotted with flowers, and before him was a marble fountain that spilled water over its edges and into a pool surrounding it. The pool rippled outwards, pulsing in every color of the rainbow.

 

The wishing star hovered before Kirby, and he reached out and grabbed it. The scenery shifted again, and now the two were once more standing on the golden surface of Halfmoon.

 

“Hmm, where should I hide this?” Kirby wondered, turning the wishing star and looking at the light shining off it. “Is in my house too easy? Maybe somewhere in Whispy’s forest? No, then I’d never be able to find it again...”

 

A pink trail blazed through the sky above, distracting Galacta from Kirby’s aimless rambling. It seemed to get closer and closer, until with a shock, he recognized it as…

 

“Meta Knight!” Galacta said.

 

“Huh?” Kirby turned, almost dropping the wishing star. “Oh geez-“

 

Meta collided with Galacta, carrying the both of them against the wind until Meta slammed Galacta against the ground.

 

“I thought I told you to stay away from Kirby,” Meta growled.

 

The wishing star Kirby held glowed brightly and trembled in his grip. It wrenched itself out of his hands and floated in the air. The same bright light shone from underneath Meta’s cape, and the other six wishing stars floated out from it, spinning around the star Kirby had found. The circle they formed grew in size, larger and larger until the stars rushed towards the center and collided with each other, disappearing in a burst of brilliant light.

 

When Kirby could see again, Galactic Nova was hovering where the stars had met, swinging its eyes from the two knights to Kirby not unlike a grandfather clock’s pendulum sways.

 

“READY.” it boomed in its emotionless tone. “I WILL GRANT YOU ONE WISH…”

 

“I wish-“ Meta could barely get those words out before Galacta was clawing at his mask, desperately trying to find purchase.

 

“Unhand my mask at once!” Meta shouted to no avail as Galacta’s hands found the space between the mask and the knight, yanking the mask off and tossing it aside. Meta immediately dropped Galacta and covered his face with his hands.

 

“Nova!” Kirby cried out. “Nova, listen to me! I have a wish!”

 

Nova’s swinging eyes stopped on Kirby. “WHAT IS YOUR WISH, YOUNG ONE?”

 

“I wish- I-“

 

He couldn’t wish for Meta to understand, right? Galacta said it wouldn’t work, but he had to do something,  _ anything! _

 

“I wish I had a strawberry shortcake to share with my friends!” He shouted it so loudly that even Meta and Galacta ceased their fighting to stare at him.

 

For a moment, Nova simply stared at him. Then, a soft light appeared before Kirby. It grew and took shape, then dimmed to reveal a full, white-frosted cake topped with strawberries resting on dollops of whipped cream. As if an afterthought, three plates materialized alongside it, each with a fork laying on top of it. 

 

“YOUR WISH IS GRANTED. MY TASK, COMPLETE.” The items gently sank to the ground. A white light enveloped Nova, and in a flash, it was gone.

 

Kirby stared at the shortcake, his stomach too nervous to process how good it looked. All he could think of was how close Meta got to sealing away Galacta again…

 

Galacta stood behind Kirby, looking at the cake that lay on the ground.

 

“That’s… um. That’s a nice looking cake,” he said.

 

Kirby turned to look at Galacta, then, looking past him, locked eyes with Meta, who’d managed to recover his mask.

 

“Meta!” Kirby ran over to him, flailing his arms wildly. “Meta, stop, don’t attack him, please!”

 

Kirby stopped in front of Meta, who hadn’t acknowledged him at all. He was just staring at Galacta, who had picked up a plate and was trying to cut a slice of the cake out with his fork.

 

“Meta?”

 

He shook his head.

 

“I don’t understand it,” Meta said. “He had the opportunity to strike me down when he removed my mask, but he didn’t. He never drew his lance against me in my moment of weakness.”

 

“Do you believe me, then? That Galacta isn’t terrible and is actually nice?”

 

“His track record of destruction still stands.”

 

“He’s not like that anymore! I can tell! He was worried about me getting the Halfmoon wishing star on my own, so he came with me!”

 

Meta glanced down at Kirby, who was clutching the edge of his cape, then back at Galacta, who was trying to maneuver the fork through his mask’s eyehole.

 

“Please, Meta, stop trying to seal him away,” Kirby said softly. “No matter what he did to get himself sealed, I know he wants to change. And besides, if he does try to do something bad, I could probably defeat him!” He puffed up with air. “They don’t call me the pink demon for n-”

 

“Stop trying to get people to call you the pink demon,” Meta said.

 

Kirby pouted. “But I am super strong, aren’t I? Strong enough to defeat Galacta?”

 

Meta had to concede that Kirby was exceptionally powerful. He’d taken on villains with power far exceeding even Meta’s own and come out victorious every time.

 

Plus, Kirby was giving him those puppy eyes that he knew Meta couldn’t say no to.

 

“Alright,” Meta sighed. “I will allow Galacta Knight to roam freely.”

 

“Thank you-!”

 

“But if he causes any trouble, the responsibility falls  _ entirely _ on you.”

 

Kirby nodded fiercely, then hugged Meta even fiercer. Meta returned the hug for just a few moments before pulling away.

 

“Well, come on, Meta! We’ve got a cake to eat!” Kirby grabbed Meta’s hand and tugged him over to where Galacta, who had removed his mask to more easily eat the cake, was sitting. He looked up and made eye contact with Meta for a brief moment, then quickly looked at Kirby, a concerned expression on his face.

 

“Galacta Knight, this is my teacher, Meta Knight! Meta Knight, this is my new friend, Galacta Knight!” Kirby held Meta’s hand out to Galacta, who stared at it. “I know you guys didn’t really like each other, but Meta said he’s gonna stop trying to seal you again, so I hope you guys can learn to get along!”

 

Galacta made no move to grab Meta’s hand, so Meta withdrew it. “I hope that we can become more amicable in the future,” he said. Still no response from Galacta.

 

“Your parrying skills are unparalleled,” Meta tried after a pause.

 

Galacta looked up at Meta. “...thanks.”

 

“I must ask, though, how do you do slashing damage with your lance? It’s not particularly sharp, is it?”

 

“Oh, that’s actually a simple spell I’ve created…”

 

Kirby smiled as he listened to the two talk about sword techniques and use big words that went completely over his head. His relief that the two had found some common ground almost made him forget about the cake that was sitting right in front of him. Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god it's finally done  
> @ everyone who thought this was abandoned because i couldn't stop being a perfectionist for like 3 months: i am. so sorry


End file.
